


the magic in our veins

by perfectlyrose



Series: Everyday Magic [9]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magic, F/M, Family, Magic, Magic-Users, Non-Explicit Injury, Romance, Universe Alteration, blood mention, magic!rose
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-06
Updated: 2018-08-06
Packaged: 2019-06-22 15:42:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15585192
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/perfectlyrose/pseuds/perfectlyrose
Summary: With Jack going on a solo vacation, Rose convinces the Doctor to take her to visit Jackie in the hopes that Jackie can provide information on magic that the TARDIS library wouldn't have. This means, however, that Rose must tell her mum that the Doctor knows the secret they guard so closely.





	the magic in our veins

**Author's Note:**

> Another installment less than a week after the last one?? It sure is! And it's a long one! Fitting for my 200th fic on this site, I think :)
> 
> (And is that a glimmer of a plot I see forming? Perhaps! Wonder of wonders!)
> 
> shoutout to lots-o-huggindoctor for giving me the idea to have them visit Jackie ♥

“I was thinking that once we drop Jack off for his vacation, we might go visit my mum,” Rose said, keeping her eyes on the mug of tea cradled between her palms.

“Oh?”

She looked up and had to smile at the look on the Doctor’s face. He was trying to hide his distaste for the idea and managing poorly. “Yeah, it’s been awhile since I’ve been to see her and I thought she might be able to help with the research on magic.”

“How?”

“Well, she has connections to the magical community that I don’t,” Rose said. “Obviously we can get more written information from the TARDIS library and databases, but my mum might have some of things only passed down through stories and not written down. At the very least, she might be able to point us towards someone who knows those stories.”

“There is probably a robust oral tradition for magic, especially on Earth,” the Doctor mused. He shot an accusatory look at Rose. “I know you’re bribing me with research opportunities.”

“Is it working?” She grinned, tucking her tongue between her teeth.

“Yes. But I’m not having tea with Jackie.”

“Oh come on, she’d make us shepard's pie and that’s her best dish. It’s one meal, Doctor. If I convince her not to invite Mickey, you can spend the whole time asking her about magic,” she wheedled.

He raised an eyebrow. “Does she know that I know about your magic?”

Rose froze. “No. I haven’t told her.”

The Doctor leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. “Is she going to slap me again because I know?”

“Probably not.”

“You don’t sound convinced.”

“She won’t slap you for this. I’m going to get one  _ hell _ of a lecture, though,” Rose said, making a face. “We also might want to skip telling her about the fact that I use magic to break out of prison cells on a semi-regular basis.”

“Still want to go see her?” The Doctor asked. His smile was bordering on smug now.

“Gonna have to tell her eventually. Might as well be now,” Rose said.

“Tell her what? Did I miss something juicy?” Jack plopped down in one of the unoccupied chairs at the kitchen table, looking disheveled.

“Not particularly. I’m convincing the Doctor to take me to see my mum while you’re on vacation,” Rose explained.

“Please tell me that you’re telling her that you and the Doc are shacking up finally.”

“Jack!”

“Knew it was too much to hope for,” he said with a wink.

Rose stole a glance at the Doctor who just rolled his eyes after a pointed look at Jack.

“You about ready to be dropped off, Harkness?” The Doctor asked.

“Yes sir. Came to get a cup of coffee and then will be 100 percent ready to go. Already dropped my bag off in the console room.” He directed his most irreverent grin at the Time Lord. “You sure you don’t want to join me? We could have a lot of fun.”

“Oi! Am I not invited?” Rose protested.

“If I thought the Doctor would let you within ten light years of this particular pleasure planet, I would definitely invite you Rosie,” Jack assured her.

She raised an eyebrow. “Did I miss the memo that the Doctor gets to decide what I do?”

The Doctor winced at her acid tone. “Neither of us will be going on vacation with you, Jack,” he quickly cut in. “We’re visiting Jackie.”

“Never thought I’d see the day you’d willingly choose a visit to my mum’s over anything,” Rose said with a laugh.

Jack caught Rose’s eye and shielded his mouth from the Doctor with his hands. “Domestic,” he mouthed.

Rose laughed and the Doctor started muttering under his breath. He pushed his chair back and stood. “Going to go set the coordinates,” he said before walking out of the room.

Jack chuckled and then stood to start the coffee. “One of the most powerful beings in the universe and you’ve got him wrapped around your finger.”

Rose sighed. “It’s not like that, Jack.”

“It is but the fact that you’d never think about it like that is why it works,” he said. “Go get ready to see Jackie. I won’t leave without saying bye.”

Rose gave him a smile and gratefully took the out to leave the galley.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Once they’d dropped Jack off, the Doctor sent them back into the Vortex and turned to face Rose. “Ready to face Jackie?”

“Ready as I can be,” she said. “Let me ring her and see if we can land in the flat. It’ll be easier for us to talk to her about magic if Mickey doesn’t cotton on to us being there.”

He motioned for her to go on and she quickly pulled out her mobile and hit the right speeddial.

“Rose! Was wondering when I’d hear from you, darling. When are you coming ‘round next?”

“Now, if it’s alright,” Rose said with a smile. “Is it alright if we land in the flat?”

“Tell himself not to land in front of the telly this time,” Jackie instructed. “Will the two of you stay for tea? Should I ask Mickey to come round?”

“Yes, we’ll be staying for tea but I don’t want to see Mickey this time, Mum. Just wanted to pop round to see you.”

Rose could hear the smile in her mum’s voice as she agreed. “Give me an hour to pop down to the shops. I want to make shepherd's pie and I need a few things.”

“Told you,” Rose mouthed at the Doctor who wasn’t even pretending not to eavesdrop.

“See you in an hour,” Rose said. She rung off and then looked at the Doctor. “Got all that?”

“One hour from when she received your call. Got it.”

He turned back to the console and input the correct coordinates, triple checking them to make sure they’d land at the right time and in the right flat. The Doctor threw the lever and grinned as the TARDIS took flight, singing her way through the universe.

They landed with a thump that almost threw them both to the grating. Recovering quickly, Rose made for the doors. Jackie was audible the moment she opened them.

“What did I tell you about landing in front of the telly? You’re lucky I already set my show to record or you’d be moving that box of yours.”

“Hello to you too, Jackie,” the Doctor said, sarcastic smile fully in place.

“Hi Mum,” Rose said, moving to give Jackie a hug and a kiss.

“Oh, it’s good to see you,” Jackie said, hugging Rose tightly. “Himself treating you alright?”

“Standing right here,” the Doctor said.

“Not talking to you,” Jackie shot back.

Rose rolled her eyes at their bickering. “I’m managing, Mum. Need any help in the kitchen?”

“Veggies still need to be chopped.”

“On it,” Rose said, heading towards the kitchen.

Jackie gave the Doctor an appraising look and then nodded decisively. “Thanks for bringing her home for a visit.”

“Of course.”

“You’re staying for my shepherd’s pie this time.” It wasn’t a question.

“Seem to be. Hopefully Rose being in the kitchen doesn’t result in anything burning.”

Jackie raised an eyebrow. “She can usually handle the veg alright, but I’m blaming anything that goes wrong on her being here. Love her dearly but she cannot cook.”

“I’m aware,” he said dryly.

“You know I can still hear you, right?” Rose called from the kitchen. “Bad idea to insult the one holding a sharp knife.”

The Doctor looked properly chastened but Jackie just laughed. “We said nothing but the truth, love.”

Rose harrumphed loudly and turned her attention back to the cutting board. She had to find a way to tell her mum that the Doctor knew their secret and then hope that she would be willing to talk to them both about it.

She was pondering how to bring it up when the knife slipped and cut into her finger. “Shit,” she hissed.

“Rose?” Jackie was next to her immediately, the Doctor barely a step behind.

“That’s what I get for not paying proper attention, I guess,” Rose joked weakly, holding onto her bleeding finger.

“Let me see,” Jackie demanded. She sucked in a breath as she got a look at the deep cut. She looked between the injury and Rose and then cast a glance towards the Doctor. “Grab the dish towel and put some pressure on it,” she said finally.

Rose would have preferred an opening that didn’t involve almost slicing her fingertip off but she would take what she got.

“Mum, he knows already,” she said softly. “Can you fix it?”

Jackie gave her a piercing look. “We’re going to have a talk about this.”

“I know.”

She sighed. “Come on over to the table.” Jackie looked up at the Doctor. “Make yourself useful and bring over a wet flannel so we can get some of the blood off.”

Jackie took the cloth as soon as he brought it over and cleaned Rose’s finger as best she could since it was still bleeding. “Cut yourself good,” she said.

“I’m aware,” Rose said. She bit down on her bottom lip as Jackie probed at the wound.

The Doctor squeezed her shoulder. She smiled up at him gratefully. “Finally get to see some healing magic,” she said.

“Wish it didn’t involve you getting hurt,” he said, voice soft.

“You and me both,” she answered.

“Quiet,” Jackie ordered. Both of their mouths snapped shut. 

She took a deep breath and then traced patterns in the air over Rose’s wound while whispering a few words Rose had heard a hundred times without ever understanding them.

The cut knitted itself back together and Rose swore quietly. The healing often hurt as much as the actual injury.

“Done,” Jackie said, wrapping the wet flannel back around Rose’s hand. “Go wash up while I finish putting things together.”

As she made her way towards the loo, she heard her mum assign the Doctor to finish chopping the onion she’d left undone. 

A tense silence existed in the flat until Jackie slid the casserole dish in the oven. Once it was in she faced the both of them. “You’ve got half an hour to explain why someone outside the family and the community knows our secret.”

“Can we go sit down?” Rose suggested.

They sat in the living room and Rose took a deep breath before starting to talk. “He knows because I had to use a spell in front of him to get us out of a bad situation. It was a bit of a complex one and I was glowing. I couldn’t  _ not _ tell him what was going on.”

“What about that other bloke? Jack. Does he know?”

Rose shook her head. “Only the Doctor. I’m not going around telling the universe about magic, Mum, though it’s almost everywhere if you look. I just had to tell the Doctor.”

“And how do you feel about it?” Jackie asked, shifting her focus to the Doctor.

“I think it’s fantastic,” he said honestly. “I’m honored to share in the secret and will guard it with my life. It’s a whole new facet of the universe I didn’t know about and I’m trying to learn as much as I can about it.”

“Don’t you dare treat my little girl like some science experiment,” she warned.

“No!” he exclaimed quickly.

“It’s not like that, Mum,” Rose cut in. “He’s just been doing some research in the TARDIS library about magic and its origins and history, trying to understand. Asks me questions when they’re relevant but you know my magic’s always been a bit… different, so I’m not always the most reliable source.”

“That’s an understatement,” Jackie muttered.

“Different?” The Doctor asked.

“Oh yes. Rose has the worst time with spells that have a strictly set form. Anything she can tweak, she can do fine, but when it comes to something like healing or kitchen spells, and she’s hopeless,” Jackie explained, warming to the topic like Rose had hoped she would. She didn’t get to talk magic with anyone other than Rose very often. Now that she was over the shock of Rose letting the Doctor in on the secret, Rose rather thought this would go swimmingly.

“Trouble with authority?” The Doctor asked, a small smile forming as he glanced at Rose. “Never would’ve guessed.”

Rose elbowed him in the side. “Wanker. And you’re one to talk!”

“No arguments here,” he said.

“Anything else that’s different about Rose’s magic compared to yours?” He asked Jackie.

“Well, I’m sure she’s told you that the glowing isn’t normal. We don’t know where that came from.”

“Yes.”

“Um, she’s always had a talent for modifying and creating new spells,” Jackie mused.

“I thought everyone did that,” Rose said, brows drawing together in confusion.

“No, love. It’s actually quite rare to see new spells, especially at the frequency you came up with them. There’s a reason people treasure their grimoires so highly; they don’t want to lose the spells their family has collected and be unable to use their magic.”

“You never told me that.”

“I didn’t want to make you self-conscious about dreaming up new spells. Didn’t you ever wonder why your entries in the grimoire were some of the only modern ones that weren’t from other families?” Jackie asked.

“I never thought about it, really. I knew I didn’t use established forms as much as you do but that’s it.”

Jackie gave the Doctor amused look. “She forgets that not everyone can set the kettle boiling with a flick of their hand instead of a proper spell.”

The Doctor leaned forward, propping his elbows on his knees. “So, it’s like her magic is less restrained than other peoples? Bubbling just under the surface instead of having to be summoned from deeper within?”

“That’s one way of putting it,” Jackie said, bemused.

“Now I feel like a science experiment,” Rose muttered. “Can I look at the grimoire, Mum? It’s been ages since I had a peek and I have a couple spells I could add to it. Some of mine and a few that I picked up traveling.”

“After dinner.”

As if on cue, the timer went off, signalling that the shepherd’s pie was ready.

Dinner was the most amicable one Rose had ever witnessed between the Doctor and Jackie. He’d gotten her talking about the stories of magic in her family and what she knew of other families’ magic. Jackie, a natural storyteller and keen gossip, was in her element and that kept the bickering to a minimum.

After helping wash up, Rose stole into Jackie’s bedroom to fetch the grimoire. She said the spell that unlocked the concealment charm on it and took it back to the sitting room.

“Would you do the restoration charm on it again, love?” Jackie asked. “It never works as well for me and it needs it.”

Rose gave the old leatherbound book a critical look. Closing her eyes and pressing her palms to it, she whispered the charm and sent energy rushing into the grimoire. When she opened her eyes, the leather was gleaming and the pages that had started to look tattered were neat once more.

Jackie raised her eyebrows. “You’ve gotten more powerful. That was the strongest restoration charm I’ve ever seen and you don’t even look tired.”

Rose looked between the book and her mum. “I guess I have. I’ve been using my magic a lot so maybe that has something to do with it.”

Jackie gave her a strange smile. “I don’t have the sight like your Nana Prentice but I’d wager that you’ve not reached your potential yet.”

Rose shook her head and looked back down at the grimoire, carefully flipping through the pages that held centuries of magical knowledge from her foremothers.

“That’s incredible,” the Doctor breathed, looking over Rose’s shoulder at a spell meant to help raise a barn.

“Never had the occasion to use this one,” she said. “Not many barns in London. Though it looks more complicated than it needs to be.”

“Maybe it needs to be this complicated for everyone else,” he said thoughtfully. “Seems your magic doesn’t need the tightly constrained channels that these spells create for other people.”

“It’s weird, that’s for sure,” Rose said. “I never really realized that my magic was quite so different. I can do all the same things, just slightly different in the execution. I thought everyone varied a little.”

She shifted to look up at the Doctor. “Any chance you would be willing to grab the journal I left on the jumpseat before coming out here? It’s my makeshift grimoire that I’ve been recording new spells in.”

He nodded and slipped into the TARDIS.

“Anything else you want to tell me?” Jackie asked with a pointed look.

Rose jumped, having almost forgotten she was in the room. “No.”

“So you’re not in love with that alien of yours?”

“What is with everyone today?” Rose muttered. “I’m not discussing this when he’s going to be back any second,” she said.

“That’s not a no.”

“Not a yes, either,” Rose pointed out.

The Doctor walked back out, small leather journal in his hands. He gave it to Rose and settled down next to her on the sofa.

“Can you tell me more about healing spells?” He asked Jackie. “I’ve not found much on them.”

Rose smiled down at her books as he listened to her mum start yammering on about healing burns and how it was a different process than a cut or puncture. This whole scene was thoroughly domestic, though likely a different brand of domestic than Jack would have predicted. Her brand of domestic though.

Once she was finished copying new spells from her travel book to the family grimoire and recording a few old ones to have with her in the TARDIS, Rose announced that it was time to go. She hugged her mum and thanked her for dinner and the healing.

The Doctor suffered through a hug of his own and then slipped into the TARDIS to let the two Tyler women finish their goodbyes.

“You’ve got a good one there, Rose. Don’t ever tell him I said it though.”

Rose couldn’t suppress her smile. “He wouldn’t believe me.”

“Even your dad didn’t take the news of my magic that well, and he was a roll with the punches kind of bloke. Your Doctor has embraced the whole thing and that’s rare.”

“I know. I was so scared of how he was going to react but he’s been wonderful,” Rose admitted.

“You sure there’s nothing going on between the two of you?” Jackie asked. “I don’t think I’d disapprove too much. Only enough to keep him on his toes.”

“We’re not like that, Mum. We’re not.”

_ Not yet _ , Jackie thought. She saw the way the Doctor watched her daughter and the way Rose looked at him. There was something there, even if they hadn’t acted on it yet. She kept her mouth shut though. This was something they would have to figure out on their own.

“If you say so,” she said. “Now, off you go. Don’t make me wait too long for another visit. You have a blooming time machine, you can manage more than a monthly visit.”

“I’ll try,” Rose said with a smile. “Bye Mum. Love you.”

“Love you too,” Jackie said, squeezing her daughter tight. “Be safe.”

“You too.”

Rose walked back into the TARDIS and nodded at the Doctor to let him know they were good to leave. He threw the lever and sent them back into the Vortex.

“That went better than it could have,” he said, leaning back against the console as he watched Rose.

“Almost slicing my finger off, notwithstanding,” she said dryly. “But yeah, that could’ve gone much worse. I think my mum might actually like you now.”

The look of horror on the Doctor’s face was priceless. “You take that back.”

She walked up to him and patted him on the cheek. “I’m sure the two of you will be back to bickering on our next visit.”

Rose yawned. “I’m knackered. Think I’ll head to bed. Somewhere pretty tomorrow? Jack’s on a vacation so we might as well have one too.”

“Your wish is my command,” he said, corners of his mouth quirking up into a smile.

She smiled back and headed down the corridor towards her room, mind full of her mum’s revelations about her magic and the comments both she and Jack had made about her and the Doctor.

Between odd magic and feelings she couldn’t name yet, Rose certainly had a lot to think about. Sleep might have to wait.


End file.
